SIR,—Daylight saving must surely be ac- counted one of the
most remarkable theories ever put before the British public. By suitably manipulating the hands of the clock, we are told, it is possible to benefit the physique. general health and welfare of all classes of the community. It should occasion no surprise, therefore, that so sweeping a claim has given rise to doubts as to whether we can do any- thing of the kind by any such means.
Are standards of no account? Of what use a yard-measure made of elastic, or the vane of a weathercock that invariably points in the direction from which balmy breezes blow? Or a timepiece to those arbitrary and drastic changes that contribute in no small degree to the prevailing chaos?
In this impersonal machine-age the human element is too often overlooked by those who seek to order our lives down to the last detail. How many members of the younger generation realise that they arc being used as a medium for experimental purposes? Nor have they any conception of the settled, genial and healthy conditions that existed in this country before our planners began tampering with the clock. In a recent debate in the House of Com- mons, reference was made to what was described as a state of 'universal weariness' visible in the population today. Does anybody suppose that a process of burning the candle at both ends can be long continued without producing an adverse effect on health? The increasing pressure on the health services is a cause of grave concern. And a layman may question whether that tendency will be re- versed so long as the Summer Time Act re- mains on the Statute Book.—Yours faithfully,
P. F. ADKINS
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